Speaker 1: All right, let's continue now, Billy Cunningham, the Great America,
Speaker 1: and this glorious Tuesday afternoon of the Tri States sun.
Speaker 1: It is everywhere quite unusual. The Governor is very busy today.
Speaker 1: It's a big day in the State cap always giving
Speaker 1: us a few moments. And Governor Mike Dwine, welcome again
Speaker 1: to the Bill Cunningham Show. Let's be direct about this, Governor.
Speaker 1: It appears that I know those of us who live here,
Speaker 1: and you live close to here, understand that four to
Speaker 1: seventy one bridge is a total catastrophe. My producer, Tony
Speaker 1: Bender lives in Boone County, going back every ninety miles.
Speaker 1: A live in Columbus. It takes two hours to get there.
Speaker 1: And you might recall Governor back in the good old
Speaker 1: days when there was a crash on the cut in
Speaker 1: the Hill in northern Kentucky, that trucks, unless they're making
Speaker 1: local deliveries, had to go all around two seventy five
Speaker 1: and Okai and city council, you're good friends on City Council.
Speaker 1: The liberal Democrats would like to have your ear to say, Governor,
Speaker 1: can you require trucks to take eye too? Seventy five
Speaker 1: all the way around to alleviate the suffering of the
Speaker 1: people in southwest Ohio. And we feel as if governor
Speaker 1: were being ignored. You can't ignore us in Columbus. Can
Speaker 1: you tell the American people what you can do? Will
Speaker 1: you give a serious thought order the truckers to go
Speaker 1: to seventy five to alleviate some of the suffering? What
Speaker 1: do you think?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know if we can do that.
Speaker 3: Bill, I can certainly check on that whether we can
Speaker 3: have legal authority to do that. This is a interstate
Speaker 3: as you know. But here's kind of the update the
Speaker 3: this construction. The murderers steel girders are actually being fabricated
Speaker 3: as we speak in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Speaker 2: And as soon as those.
Speaker 3: Are ready, they're supposed to be delivered on January thirteenth,
Speaker 3: then we'll do everything to get them up. We've got
Speaker 3: a target date of mid March, but frankly, I'm pushing
Speaker 3: ODOT and I think we can get them up sooner
Speaker 3: than that.
Speaker 2: I hope as early is mid February. So we will,
Speaker 2: we will, we will see.
Speaker 3: But uh, you know, that's that's that's the problem. It's uh,
Speaker 3: you know, we got we got to get things from
Speaker 3: Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Speaker 2: That's where they're being fabricated.
Speaker 1: So will you give thought to this idea about the
Speaker 1: trucks for the next two months off to seventy five?
Speaker 1: If if you have the legal authority to do it,
Speaker 1: some say you do, some say you don't. But if
Speaker 1: you have the authority, will you do it to help
Speaker 1: the people of Cincinnati.
Speaker 2: Well, we're gonna look at that. Bill.
Speaker 3: The council have not contacted me, but you you if
Speaker 3: you told me that a few minutes ago off the air,
Speaker 3: and so we will certainly check and see what else
Speaker 3: that we can do and whether we have a kind
Speaker 3: of legal authority in regard to that. I mean, again,
Speaker 3: this is an interstate commerce, so we're directly dealing with
Speaker 3: interstate commerce.
Speaker 2: And as you know, Bill, you're a lawyer.
Speaker 3: Uh so you've got we've got, you know, some potential
Speaker 3: problems in regard to doing that. But let me I'm
Speaker 3: asking our warriors to look at it, and we'll go
Speaker 3: take a.
Speaker 2: Look at it.
Speaker 1: Secondly, there's one of the big issues is your appointment
Speaker 1: to the United States Senate seat. There's many people that
Speaker 1: are just sending you flowers and candy. There's doing everything
Speaker 1: in their power four or five. Frank LeRose wants it.
Speaker 1: Jane Timpkin, who I like, likes it, and there's several
Speaker 1: others that would like to have this thing. John Houstad,
Speaker 1: your second in command. He's kind of the Mike Pensive Ohio.
Speaker 1: He's kind of the Kamala Harris. He's second in command.
Speaker 1: And many are saying you're going to point him to
Speaker 1: it and then opens up the lieutenant governor's seat. But
Speaker 1: Jane Timpkin and that she's ready to go for governor.
Speaker 1: I don't want to ask you anything personal or privately
Speaker 1: about this, but what the hell are you going to do?
Speaker 1: That's what I like to know. When you got January twentieth,
Speaker 1: I guess what in the heck is the governor going
Speaker 1: to do with that Senate seat.
Speaker 3: Well, it's a big decision, and I am, as you say,
Speaker 3: the interviewing people. I've interviewed a number of people and
Speaker 3: interviewed another persons more frankly, a lot of people, as
Speaker 3: you can imagine, are interested in that. Look, there's only
Speaker 3: one hundred US centers, we only get two, so it's
Speaker 3: an important it's an important pick. And just to let
Speaker 3: everybody know how this works, my appointment would serve another
Speaker 3: two years, then would have to run in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 2: If they won in twenty twenty.
Speaker 3: Six and one to continue we're serving the Senate, they'd
Speaker 3: have to run in twenty twenty eight.
Speaker 2: So it's a very unusual situation for someone.
Speaker 3: You know, normally these are six year terms, but this
Speaker 3: is filling out an unexpired term of jd Vance. So
Speaker 3: we think Dvance, you know, will probably resign sometime, you know,
Speaker 3: obviously before noon on January twentieth. I'm not sure exactly
Speaker 3: what date. And my goal is to have someone ready
Speaker 3: to go by then and once you know, we make
Speaker 3: the selection. Once I make the selection, we certainly will
Speaker 3: will announce that and I know we will be tearing
Speaker 3: that on on WLW. So it's an important decision. Uh.
Speaker 3: You know, I've spent twelve years in the United States Senate.
Speaker 3: I think I have some idea of what it takes
Speaker 3: take someone who wants to go there and work, someone
Speaker 3: who has a grasp and understanding of Ohio. You know,
Speaker 3: bill is a very diverse state with kind of a
Speaker 3: state of city states, you know, seven or eight major cities,
Speaker 3: and you know, one part of the state very different
Speaker 3: than the other part of the States. We mean someone
Speaker 3: who understands the diversity of the state, someone who's going
Speaker 3: to be a champion for for US.
Speaker 2: I say US, I mean Ohio.
Speaker 3: And also someone who you know, it's going to be
Speaker 3: have to deal with foreign affairs. They're gonna have to
Speaker 3: deal with all the issues that we anybody who's in
Speaker 3: the United States Senate has to deal with. We also
Speaker 3: have to have someone who's willing to run twice. You know,
Speaker 3: I'm not tough going to pick someone just you know,
Speaker 3: to take the term for two years. Now, there's a
Speaker 3: story that you might volunteer for that, but I'm not
Speaker 3: going to do that.
Speaker 1: So well, I know, I mean, I'd be like Willie
Speaker 1: goes to Washington. It'll be a major story for two years.
Speaker 1: But I've often said I would not be in an
Speaker 1: organization that would admit me as a member. And the
Speaker 1: idea of serving for two years is attractive, but the
Speaker 1: idea of running twice is unattractive. I will, if selected,
Speaker 1: I will not run. I'm telling you right now, I
Speaker 1: know how much you would like me, but I will
Speaker 1: not run in twenty twenty six, and I will not
Speaker 1: run in twenty twenty eight. So the criteria, as I
Speaker 1: understand it, Number one, you need a quality person who
Speaker 1: has the breadth of knowledge. Number two, you want someone
Speaker 1: somewhat collegial, not a bomb thrower like Tony Bender, someone
Speaker 1: that's going to just be a show horse and not
Speaker 1: a workhorse, which you were a workhorse. And number three,
Speaker 1: what about the Trump factor? Because if the Trumpster and
Speaker 1: Jay I get JD's got the Trumpsters or shall we say, uh,
Speaker 1: you can't appoint someone that Trump's going to put someone
Speaker 1: against them in a primary to split the party? Correct?
Speaker 3: Well, that's I mean, look, the president Trump has effectively
Speaker 3: picked the last two US senators from Ohio, the last
Speaker 3: two people to win, uh, jd Vance and Marino. He
Speaker 3: endorsed you know, each of those in their respect primary
Speaker 3: and they ended up they ended up winning. So it
Speaker 3: needs to be someone who can win a primary, uh,
Speaker 3: and then turn right around and win a few months
Speaker 3: later win a general election. So you know, there's a
Speaker 3: I think a feeling among many people that Ohio is
Speaker 3: this real bright red state and we are we are.
Speaker 3: I guess if you look at the last you know,
Speaker 3: three presidential elections, but Trump won by eight eight and
Speaker 3: then and then twelve or eleven. I guess eleven plus.
Speaker 3: But it's still a state that a demo can win statewide. Yes,
Speaker 3: and we know that off of your elections sometimes are
Speaker 3: not good for the party in power, the party that
Speaker 3: controls the White House. That's that's been the history, and
Speaker 3: so you know you have to have someone who won
Speaker 3: the general election as well as being able to win
Speaker 3: a primary.
Speaker 1: Have you spoken to Donald Trump about this seat?
Speaker 2: Yeah? I have.
Speaker 3: I talked to him, I talked to JD. Vance and
Speaker 3: of course I talked to a lot of people about it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but you understand, you know more about politics and
Speaker 1: Ohio than anyone this side of Thomas Jefferson eighteen o three.
Speaker 1: When a high became a state, and that is that
Speaker 1: to appoint someone that the that JD. E. Vans would say,
Speaker 1: I oppose that person. That is something you would not do.
Speaker 2: No, No, that wouldn't make any sense.
Speaker 3: I mean that would just mean they would only be
Speaker 3: in there for two years. And you know, you could
Speaker 3: get some stump done in two years. But the more
Speaker 3: effective way, of course, is to have someone who's going
Speaker 3: to be in the United State sat for some period
Speaker 3: of time that they he or she has the ability
Speaker 3: to you know, get some seniority and get going there.
Speaker 3: So we don't really want to point someone who just
Speaker 3: is only going to be there for a couple of years.
Speaker 1: Lastly, I know you're busy this afternoon. Lastly, on the
Speaker 1: issue of Intel, there was some comments because the guy
Speaker 1: you dealt with an Intel, the CEO, has been diffract
Speaker 1: And what is the status of that huge Intel plant
Speaker 1: in the Columbus area that was going to be billions
Speaker 1: of dollars in economic impact? What's the status of that
Speaker 1: in these days? I think his name's Gelsinger. I know
Speaker 1: you know him, well, yes, what's the status?
Speaker 2: Yeah, Pat Gelsinger is who we you know, we dealt
Speaker 2: with at Intel. He was the CEO.
Speaker 3: Things are still moving forward. We expect him to continue
Speaker 3: to move forward. And just to give you kind of
Speaker 3: a sense of this bill how big this is.
Speaker 2: You know, they have already put.
Speaker 3: Billions and billions I say, b billions of dollars into
Speaker 3: the ground, uh out there. And so this is not
Speaker 3: something that anybody is going to turn off. There's you know,
Speaker 3: they can't walk away from this even if they wanted to.
Speaker 3: We have no no indication if they want to. But
Speaker 3: they've got billions of dollars already invested. So uh, it's
Speaker 3: it's going to move forward. I think the market will
Speaker 3: always determine how fast it moves.
Speaker 2: We knew that from the beginning.
Speaker 3: Uh, you know, they told us they wanted wanted to
Speaker 3: do you know, multiple fabs out there, But we also
Speaker 3: were told, you know, it will depend on the market.
Speaker 3: It will spend on how our business is going, how
Speaker 3: fast we can expand this. So, uh, you know, I'm
Speaker 3: still I'm still optimistic. Uh, they're moving forward as as
Speaker 3: we speak right today, they're they're you know, building right now.
Speaker 3: And yeah, a lot of a lot of a lot
Speaker 3: of hire workers out there.
Speaker 1: How about thirty seconds remaining? You have two years left
Speaker 1: in your term. In January, you've six years into it.
Speaker 1: What is the main thing you'd like to do in
Speaker 1: the last two years of your term? I would anticipate
Speaker 1: you're about my age in a sense, a little bit
Speaker 1: older than me, of course, but nonetheless, when you get
Speaker 1: out of office, you'll be about eighty years old. I
Speaker 1: assume your political life will be done at that point.
Speaker 1: Maybe serve on a board and sit on your porch
Speaker 1: there and Green County and maybe just count your blessings
Speaker 1: and thirty some great grandchildren. But nonetheless, if you had
Speaker 1: one goal you'd like to undertake in the last two years,
Speaker 1: what would it be.
Speaker 3: No, we're on continue to focus on people. We're creating
Speaker 3: more jobs in the stable while every day than we
Speaker 3: have people that kill them. So we've got to make
Speaker 3: sure that everybody has the ability to live up to
Speaker 3: their God given potential. That means focusing on education and
Speaker 3: focusing on the science of reading sounding words out Delli
Speaker 3: parton library. The frand has been so involved in being
Speaker 3: booked into kids' hams all the way up to college
Speaker 3: for some kids, but also kids that don't want to
Speaker 3: go that pathway give them opportunities as well, whether that's
Speaker 3: in the building trades or whether that's working with computers.
Speaker 3: All of these things are you know, important. So I
Speaker 3: know we don't have much time, but that's kind of
Speaker 3: what we're focused on, you know, live up to their
Speaker 3: full potential.
Speaker 1: We've got to get into the electoral college. Right now,
Speaker 1: my sister Mary Cunningham Reddin will be reading a bunch
Speaker 1: of stuff. And keep an eye on her. She's so
Speaker 1: proud of what's going on. You don't know her life
Speaker 1: intimately as I do because I love my sister. But
Speaker 1: she's wearing my mother's necklace. My mother died in twenty
Speaker 1: or nine, and she has her little bit in her
Speaker 1: purse and she shove tears in her eyes to think about.
Speaker 1: I wish my mom was around to see my sister
Speaker 1: perform an electoral college. But keep an eye on.
Speaker 2: I will see her in just a few minutes literally,
Speaker 2: So ask her to college today.
Speaker 1: Ask her to look at the necklace, my mother's necklace.
Speaker 1: She died with that around her neck, and she'd be
Speaker 1: so proud of my sister. I'll look at the necklace
Speaker 1: doing God bless you, Thank you, thank you, thank you,
Speaker 1: God bless you. Let's continue with more. It's take a
Speaker 1: short break. On the other side. We're going to discuss
Speaker 1: what the governor brought up, which is the four seventy
Speaker 1: one situation, and also the Senate seat, et cetera, and
Speaker 1: his friendship. Believe it or not, Mike DeWine as a
Speaker 1: friendship with Donald Trump. I'm not sure any of those
Speaker 1: two could be more different, except politically, but culturally and socially.
Speaker 1: But they got it. Make no sense for Mike DeWine
Speaker 1: to appoint someone then split the party in half next
Speaker 1: year during a primery, I mean in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 1: Let's continue with more. Bill Cunningham, home of the Bengals,
Speaker 1: News Radio seven hundred WL